Why won't any team adapt the empty net strategy of pulling the goal with alleast 3 minutes?

Question

We saw today, in the dallas game that the goalie was pulled much earlier (exact time would be fun to know) but it was a 3 goal game and little could be done. Plus I never saw this happen (empty net with a 3 goal lead) did that ever happen before?

But my main question is why wont they pull goalies (especially in 2 goal cases) with atleast 3 or maybe even 4 minutes to go (I would do it with about 3:30) when your team has puck possession and especially if your in there zone. The worst thing ever is when your team has a PP and theres about 4 minutes remiagning and you pull the goalie after the pp with 90 seconds (thats sooooo stupid). If you pulled the goalie during the pp you would have a 2men advantage. Yes you can miss a goal but yur still done if you don't score. I just hate to see empty nets comited to late.

What's your guys opinions

Answer 1

It's just simply too risky. Although it gives you a man, sometimes even two or three-man advantage, leaving your net open gives the other team a free shot at a goal. Just having puck possession in the offensive zone doesn't guarantee you'll be safe. One bad pass or a bad keep-in is all it takes for the other guy to get a chance at an empty netter. Or, like Penguins Bias stated, your opponent can simply just get a clear shot at the net and clear all the way down the ice for a goal. Pulling the goalie with 3 minutes left is almost unheard of in tight games. It just gives the other team more time and a better chance to score one on you and send you packing. Dallas probably realized it would take only a miracle for them to come back 3 goals down with only 3 minutes left, and threw up a prayer by pulling their goalie with that much time left.

Answer 2

It was poor sportsmanship on Dallas' part..just take your loss and go home.  That was like a slap in the face to the Red Wings saying that they could score 3 goals in 3 minutes if they had an extra man.

That's why teams don't do that also, it's poor sportsmanship. They looked like losers. If they would've said "OK good game." they would've came out looking good but instead they looked desperate like they didn't even belong there and they did belong there.

What if the Wings were to score on the empty net and Dallas still pulled Turco? That would've been the lowest.

--Most teams don't average 3 goals a game. Dallas wanted to make 3 in 3 minutes? They should have taken their loss and just waited until next year. They looked like sore losers and that's why no other team does this. It makes themselves look bad and I guess Dallas can just be the poster boys of this. I really hope my Red Wings never stoop that low.

Yeah, the way it looks to some people is they wanted to give it all and they had nothing to lose but they did. They lost the dignity of even being there in the first place. Can you imagine if every team that was in an elimination game did this? It would be pathetic.

I would not say give up if you're down ONE goal or at most 2 goals. Like I said though 3 goals is more than any team averages in a game these days. Obviously they didn't give it their all during the series and had to try to make it up in the last 3 minutes.

You cannot compare pulling the goalie with 3 minutes left while down 3 goals to taking a chance and fouling a player to get the ball quicker because your team is only down 3 points with 10 seconds left. You just can't. One is a conceivable victory and one isn't. If you're going to compare it to a situation in basketball it's more like fouling a player to get the ball quicker with 3 minutes left and your team is down 30. h**l, why not do it the whole game?

One minute for every goal you need to get? So Colorado should have pulled the goalie with 6 minutes left in Game 4? Philadelphia should have pulled Biron with 6 minutes left? Do you see how that doesn't make sense?

"Hey guys, we still have a chance. We played the whole game terribly but let's start the comeback now instead of knowing we tried our best but they simply outplayed us for 57 minutes."

Answer 3

The longer the goalie is pulled the better chance the other team has to score into the empty net, remember all they have to do is like a pk and clear it down, into the net.

Answer 4

Simply too much time left to do that.  If that were the real strategy, they would play without goalies. Who would want to see the opposing team continually just dump the puck in the offensive zone, "hoping" for a fluke empty netter? The NHL, with the rule changes lately might like to make it a game/sport like that where you will have scores so ridiculous, oh wait, thats basketball, where they rarely play defense.

Answer 5

Bill, not doing everything possible within the rules to win would be considered bad sportsmanship.  Are you saying you're supposed to just give up at the end of the game?

Pulling the goalie early is just too risky, risk is not worth the slight benefit of an extra player.

Answer 6

The general rule for the goalie pulls is one minute for every goal you need to get.

As for pulling the goalie after a PP.. that can be argued both ways I guess. The benefit is obvious, but when a team is on a PK, they get free icings.. so all they have to do is clear it down and it might make it in.

Answer 7

bill its not poor sportsmanship. what the stars were saying we have 3 minutes to go inour season and we are going to do everything we can to win as long as there is time on the clock. its the same in basketball when the team thats down fouls to stop the clock. or in football when the other team takes a knee. same in baseball when the other team walks a hitter intentionally. its called strategy.  but with all that said you dont pull the extra man that early becaus basically thats a lot of time for either team to score. you dont want the other team to get possesion and score. hindsight is 20/00 they can score in 3 minutes just as easy as they can with 2 minutes. but you want as little chance of the other team to score as possible. so if u can control the puck for 2 minutes in their zone and score then the risk pays off. but three minutes is a lot harder to hold the puck in the other teams  zone.

Answer 8

A lot can happen in 3 minutes, and that's a really long time to rely on the team and the extra attacker to not only catch the scores up, but defend the zone as well.